Trusted system for providing customized content to internet service provider subscribers

ABSTRACT

A method includes receiving, by a processing system of a user endpoint device, a network cookie directly from an internet service provider who provides a subscriber who is associated with the user endpoint device with connectivity to the internet, storing, by the processing system, the network cookie in a local memory of the user endpoint device, generating, by the processing system, a request to send to the Internet service provider, wherein the request comprises a request for an internet protocol address associated with a uniform resource locator of an internet content provider, attaching, by the processing system, the network cookie to the request, and sending, by the processing system, the request including the network cookie to the Internet service provider.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/207,574, filed on Mar. 19, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,611,623, whichis herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to data privacy, and relatesmore particularly to devices, non-transitory computer-readable media,and methods for providing subscribers of an Internet service providerwith customized content via a trusted system.

BACKGROUND

Many websites capture data from users who visit the websites. Typically,the websites may use algorithms and other mechanisms that estimate theuser's intentions or preferences based on the user's search history,cookies, and/or user provided data. For instance, a search enginewebsite may capture a search (e.g., a string of keywords) executed by auser and associate the search with the user's Internet Protocol (IP)address. Other websites may include embedded scripts that capture theuser's data when the website is loaded on the user's user endpointdevice. Still other websites may use cookies in order to rememberstateful information and/or to record user browsing history.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure broadly discloses methods, computer-readablemedia, and systems for providing subscribers of an Internet serviceprovider with customized content via a trusted system. In one example, amethod performed by a processing system of a user endpoint deviceincluding at least one processor includes receiving a network cookiedirectly from an internet service provider who provides a subscriber whois associated with the user endpoint device with connectivity to theinternet, storing, by the processing system, the network cookie in alocal memory of the user endpoint device, generating, by the processingsystem, a request to send to the Internet service provider, wherein therequest comprises a request for an internet protocol address associatedwith a uniform resource locator of an internet content provider,attaching, by the processing system, the network cookie to the request,and sending, by the processing system, the request including the networkcookie to the Internet service provider.

In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may storeinstructions which, when executed by a processing system in acommunications network, cause the processing system to performoperations. The operations may include receiving, by a user endpointdevice, a network cookie directly from an internet service provider whoprovides a subscriber who is associated with the user endpoint devicewith connectivity to the internet, storing, by the processing system,the network cookie in a local memory of the user endpoint device,generating, by the processing system, a request to send to the Internetservice provider, wherein the request comprises a request for aninternet protocol address associated with a uniform resource locator ofan internet content provider, attaching, by the processing system, thenetwork cookie to the request, and sending, by the processing system,the request including the network cookie to the Internet serviceprovider.

In another example, a device may include a processing system includingat least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions which, when executed by the processing system whendeployed in a communications network, cause the processing system toperform operations. The operations may include receiving, by a userendpoint device, a network cookie directly from an internet serviceprovider who provides a subscriber who is associated with the userendpoint device with connectivity to the internet, storing, by theprocessing system, the network cookie in a local memory of the userendpoint device, generating, by the processing system, a request to sendto the Internet service provider, wherein the request comprises arequest for an internet protocol address associated with a uniformresource locator of an internet content provider, attaching, by theprocessing system, the network cookie to the request, and sending, bythe processing system, the request including the network cookie to theInternet service provider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present disclosure can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system in which examples of the presentdisclosure for providing subscribers of an Internet service providerwith customized content via a trusted system may operate;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a computing device, or computingsystem, specifically programmed to perform the steps, functions, blocks,and/or operations described herein.

To facilitate understanding, similar reference numerals have been used,where possible, to designate elements that are common to the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure broadly discloses methods, computer-readablemedia, and systems for providing subscribers of an Internet serviceprovider with customized content via a trusted system. As discussedabove, many websites capture data from users who visit the websites.Typically, the websites may use algorithms and other mechanisms thatestimate the user's intentions or preferences based on the user's searchhistory, cookies, and/or user provided data. For instance, a searchengine website may capture a search (e.g., a string of keywords)executed by a user and associate the search with the user's InternetProtocol (IP) address. Other websites may include embedded scripts thatcapture the user's data when the website is loaded on the user's userendpoint device. Still other websites may use cookies in order toremember stateful information and/or to record user browsing history.Encrypted session cookies may be used, for instance, to remember theitems that a user has added to an online shopping cart, to record thewebsites that the user has visited, or to determine when a user islogged into a website that requires a login, among other uses. Theseencrypted session cookies typically expire once the users are no longerbrowsing on the websites that sent the cookies. Thus, cookies can bevery useful tools for Internet content providers and can provide ameasure of convenience to users.

These approaches for capturing user data often balance the Internetcontent providers' need to collect the most comprehensive user dataagainst the users' desire for privacy. For instance, although a user'ssearch history may be willingly provided by a user, the search historymay not provide the most complete view of the user's intentions andinterests. If the user enters a website's uniform resource locator (URL)directly into the web browser's address bar, as opposed to searching forthe website through a search engine, then that website (which the useractually visited) will not appear in the user's search history.

On the other hand, although scripts and cookies track the websites thata user actually visits, many users view these mechanisms as intrusive.For instance, user backlash has been growing against persistent(long-lived or non-expiring) and third-party cookies that track users'histories and browsing behaviors even after the users have stoppedbrowsing on the websites that sent the cookies. Storage of these morepersistent cookies is often viewed by users as an invasion of privacy.Moreover, storage of these more persistent cookies often happens in thebackground of the computing devices, such that the users are not evenaware that the cookies are being stored and accumulated. As such,measures have been taken to limit the use of many kinds of cookies. Forinstance, the European Union has passed a law that forces all Internetcontent providers to obtain explicit user consent before sendingnon-essential cookies to users' computing devices. Many web browsersalso offer users the option to block cookies. These measures may greatlydisrupt the browsing experience for users (e.g., users may constantly beasked for permission to send cookies or to unblock cookies), as wellmake it harder for Internet content providers to customize content orprovide rich content services over the Internet.

Examples of the present disclosure, in essence, replace the use ofconventional cookies generated by Internet content providers (or otherthird parties) with cookies that are generated by the Internet serviceprovider. This system provides improved protection of user data, withoutdisrupting the user's browsing experience or preventing trusted Internetcontent providers from providing customized content to users. Inparticular, examples of the present disclosure leverage the unique,trusted relationship that Internet service providers have both withtheir subscribers (e.g., end users who do not want cookies from unknownparties stored on their computing devices) and with trusted Internetcontent providers (who need to know information about the end users).

With the advent of Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CG-NAT),which many Internet service providers are deploying to conserve InternetProtocol version 4 (IPv4) address space, the uniqueness of an end user'sIP address to Internet Content Providers has become a thing of the past.However, the Internet service providers still know the links between theIP addresses and the end users (or end user households, in the case ofwireline Internet access), as the Internet service providers maintainaccounts for the end users. Thus, in one example of the presentdisclosure, an Internet service provider becomes an intermediary betweenthe end users and the Internet content providers.

In one particular example, an Internet service provider may maintain asubscriber database that contains, for each of the Internet serviceprovider's subscribers, a profile. The profile for a subscriber maycontain at least some of the data for the subscriber that would normallybe stored in a cookie. Additionally, the Internet service provider maytrack DNS activity of (e.g., the websites that are visited by) thesubscriber, and may generate a cookie (referred to herein as a “networkcookie”) based on the DNS activity that may be stored in thesubscriber's user endpoint device. The network cookie can be used tocustomize content that the subscriber receives later, e.g., whenvisiting websites associated with Internet content providers. However,because the network cookie is generated by the Internet service provider(i.e., a trusted entity to the subscriber) rather than the Internetcontent provider(s) (i.e., potentially unknown or untrusted entities tothe subscriber), the subscriber may be more willing to have the networkcookie stored on the user endpoint device.

Moreover, by basing the network cookie on the subscriber's DNS activity,such as the websites actually visited by the subscriber, as opposed tothe subscriber's search data (e.g., keywords entered in a web browser),the resultant network cookie is more relevant to the subscriber's actualintentions and preferences. The relevance may be further improved byincorporating profile data, which the subscriber may provide to theInternet service provider upon subscribing to the Internet serviceprovider's services and which is already in the possession of theInternet service provider as discussed above. Thus, timelier and morerelevant information may be presented to the subscriber, which makes fora better experience for the subscriber and, ideally, a better result forthe Internet content providers.

Within the context of the present disclosure, an “Internet serviceprovider” is understood to refer to an entity that provides itssubscribers with services for accessing and using the Internet. An“Internet content provider” is understood to refer to an entity thatprovides content (e.g., a shopping website, a corporate website, aneducation website, a video conferencing website, a news website, asocial media website, or the like) to users over the Internet. A“trusted” Internet content provider is an Internet content provider thathas been vetted in some way such that the Internet content provider hasbeen pre-authorized to receive user data. These and other aspects of thepresent disclosure are discussed in greater detail below in connectionwith the examples of FIGS. 1-5 .

To further aid in understanding the present disclosure, FIG. 1illustrates an example system 100 in which examples of the presentdisclosure for providing subscribers of an Internet service providerwith customized content via a trusted system may operate. The system 100may include any one or more types of communication networks, such as atraditional circuit switched network (e.g., a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN)) or a packet network such as an Internet Protocol (IP)network (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network), anasynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a wired network, a wirelessnetwork, and/or a cellular network (e.g., 2G-5G, a long term evolution(LTE) network, and the like) related to the current disclosure. Itshould be noted that an IP network is broadly defined as a network thatuses Internet Protocol to exchange data packets. Additional example IPnetworks include Voice over IP (VoIP) networks, Service over IP (SoIP)networks, the World Wide Web, and the like.

In one example, the system 100 may comprise a core network 102. The corenetwork 102 may be in communication with one or more access networks 120and 122, and with the Internet 124. In one example, the core network 102may functionally comprise a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) network,e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network. In addition, the corenetwork 102 may functionally comprise a telephony network, e.g., anInternet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) backbonenetwork utilizing Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for circuit-switchedand Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony services. In oneexample, the core network 102 may include at least one applicationserver (AS) 104, at least one database (DB) 106, and a plurality of edgerouters 128-130. For ease of illustration, various additional elementsof the core network 102 are omitted from FIG. 1 .

In one example, the access networks 120 and 122 may comprise DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL) networks, public switched telephone network (PSTN)access networks, broadband cable access networks, Local Area Networks(LANs), wireless access networks (e.g., an IEEE 802.11/Wi-Fi network andthe like), cellular access networks, 3^(rd) party networks, and thelike. For example, the operator of the core network 102 may provide acable television service, an IPTV service, or any other types oftelecommunication services to subscribers via access networks 120 and122. In one example, the access networks 120 and 122 may comprisedifferent types of access networks, may comprise the same type of accessnetwork, or some access networks may be the same type of access networkand other may be different types of access networks. In one example, thecore network 102 may be operated by a telecommunication network serviceprovider (e.g., an Internet service provider, or a service provider whoprovides Internet services in addition to other telecommunicationservices). The core network 102 and the access networks 120 and 122 maybe operated by different service providers, the same service provider ora combination thereof, or the access networks 120 and/or 122 may beoperated by entities having core businesses that are not related totelecommunications services, e.g., corporate, governmental, oreducational institution LANs, and the like.

In one example, the access network 120 may be in communication with oneor more user endpoint devices 108 and 110. Similarly, the access network122 may be in communication with one or more user endpoint devices 112and 114. The access networks 120 and 122 may transmit and receivecommunications between the user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and 114,between the user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and 114, the server(s)126, the AS 104, other components of the core network 102, devicesreachable via the Internet in general, and so forth. In one example,each of the user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and 114 may compriseany single device or combination of devices that may comprise a userendpoint device, such as computing system 500 depicted in FIG. 5 , andmay be configured as described below. For example, the user endpointdevices 108, 110, 112, and 114 may each comprise a mobile device, acellular smart phone, a gaming console, a set top box, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, an application server,a bank or cluster of such devices, and the like.

In one example, one or more servers 126 may be accessible to userendpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and 114 via Internet 124 in general. Theserver(s) 126 may be associated with Internet content providers, e.g.,entities that provide content (e.g., news, blogs, videos, music, files,products, services, or the like) in the form of websites to users overthe Internet 124. Thus, some of the servers 126 may comprise contentservers, e.g., servers that store content such as images, text, video,and the like which may be served to web browser applications executingon the user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and 114 in the form ofwebsites.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the AS 104 may be configuredto provide one or more operations or functions in connection withexamples of the present disclosure for providing subscribers of anInternet service provider with customized content via a trusted system,as described herein. The AS 104 may comprise one or more physicaldevices, e.g., one or more computing systems or servers, such ascomputing system 500 depicted in FIG. 5 , and may be configured asdescribed below. It should be noted that as used herein, the terms“configure,” and “reconfigure” may refer to programming or loading aprocessing system with computer-readable/computer-executableinstructions, code, and/or programs, e.g., in a distributed ornon-distributed memory, which when executed by a processor, orprocessors, of the processing system within a same device or withindistributed devices, may cause the processing system to perform variousfunctions. Such terms may also encompass providing variables, datavalues, tables, objects, or other data structures or the like which maycause a processing system executing computer-readable instructions,code, and/or programs to function differently depending upon the valuesof the variables or other data structures that are provided. As referredto herein a “processing system” may comprise a computing deviceincluding one or more processors, or cores (e.g., as illustrated in FIG.5 and discussed below) or multiple computing devices collectivelyconfigured to perform various steps, functions, and/or operations inaccordance with the present disclosure.

In one example, the AS 104 may be configured to receive requests fromsubscribers associated with the user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and114, where the requests comprise requests for IP addresses associatedwith URLs of websites (which may be served by Internet content providersvia the servers 126). Thus, the AS 104 may operate, in part, as a DNSresolver which receive requests from the user endpoint devices 108, 110,112, and 114 to translate domain names (e.g., examplebank.com) into IPaddresses (e.g., 123.456.789.123) with which the user endpoint devices108, 110, 112, and 114 may connect to desired websites.

However, AS 104 may also be further configured to perform analytics onthe requests received from a given user endpoint device 108, 110, 112,and 114 in order to extract or infer an intention or preference of thesubscriber who is operating the given user endpoint device 108, 110,112, and 114. For instance, the AS 104 may utilize machine learningtechniques in order to extract patterns from the requests originatingwith the given user endpoint device 108, 110, 112, or 114. The pattern(e.g., subscriber intention or preference) may be encoded in a networkcookie, which may be returned to the user endpoint device 108, 110, 112,and 114 along with a requested IP address. The user endpoint device 108,110, 112, and 114 may store the network cookie locally and include thenetwork cookie in any subsequent requests to the AS 104, as described infurther detail below.

The AS 104 may augment the network cookie with information stored in theDB 106. For instance, the DB 106 may store subscriber (user) profiles132 for subscribers of the Internet service provider which operates thecore network 102. In a further example, the DB 106 may additionallystore a list of trusted Internet content providers (ICPs) 134 which havebeen vetted (e.g., by the Internet service provider or by a thirdparty).

In one example, each subscriber profile may store, for an associatedsubscriber, a set of data that may commonly be stored in conventionalcookies. For instance, the subscriber profile may include at least oneof the following types of data: subscriber name, subscriber identifier(e.g., a numerical or alphanumeric identifier that does not identify thesubscriber by name, such as an account number), subscriber address(e.g., the physical address associated with the subscriber account,which may be a home address, a business address, or the like), a mobiledevice number associated with the subscriber (e.g., if the Internetservice provider also provides mobile phone services), a location of thesubscriber (e.g., a current location, if the Internet service providerhas access to information about the subscriber's mobile device(s)), aDNS query history of the subscriber, demographic information of thesubscriber (e.g., age, marital status, employment status, educationlevel, language preference, etc.), and/or other information that thesubscriber may be willing to divulge to trusted Internet contentproviders in order to improve content customization (i.e., havingreceived affirmed subscriber consent or having a subscriber opting intoa service that allows such subscriber information to be stored andused). Thus, in one embodiment, subscriber consent is received prior tothe use such subscriber information to improve the content customizationfor the subscriber.

In one example, the subscriber profiles 132 are stored in encrypted formin the DB 106 to protect subscriber privacy. Subscribers may have theoption for the profiles to be provided to the trusted Internet contentproviders.

In a further example, the subscriber profile associated with asubscriber may also include a list of Internet content providers whichthe subscriber considers trusted and/or untrusted. That is, thesubscriber profile may identify a limited list of Internet contentproviders with whom the subscriber's data may be shared, and/or alimited list of Internet content providers with whom the subscriber'sdata may not be shared. In a further example, the subscriber profile mayidentify specific subsets of the subscriber data that may or may not bestored with specific Internet content providers or types of Internetcontent providers. For instance, the subscriber profile may authorizeinformation about a subscriber's DNS query history, but not location, tobe shared with Internet content providers which provide social mediaservices. The same subscriber profile may authorize both DNS queryhistory and location data to be provided to Internet content providerswhich provide search engines (or to be provided to specific searchengines). The subscriber profile may authorize identificationinformation in the subscriber profile to be shared with a specificfinancial institution with which the subscriber has an account (e.g.,examplebank.com). Thus, a first subset of the subscriber data that isallowed to be shared with a first Internet content provider (or type ofInternet content provider) may differ from a second subset of thesubscriber data that is allowed to be shared with a second Internetcontent provider (or second type of Internet content provider).

A subscriber can always decide to opt out of having their subscriberprofiles 132 stored in the DB 106 for the purposes of sharing withInternet content providers. However, if a subscriber opts out of storinga subscriber profile, the subscriber will likely have to either: (1)accept cookies (which may, if done by default, result in untrustedInternet content providers obtaining sensitive information) or (2) blockcookies (and not receive a content-rich, customized browsing experience,which may or may not be a concern for some subscribers).

The list of trusted Internet content providers 134 may comprise a listof Internet content providers that have been vetted, such that the AS104 has been pre-authorized to share information in the subscriberprofiles 132 with the Internet content providers which are included inthe list of trusted Internet content providers 134. In one example, inorder to be included in the list of trusted Internet content providers134, an Internet content provider may be vetted by some third party whois not a subscriber or the Internet service provider who operates thecore network 102. For instance, an Internet content provider may beapproved for inclusion in the list of trusted Internet content providers134 based on a rating of the Internet content provider in an industrydatabase and/or on a domain reputation of the Internet content provider.In another example, a subscriber may provide a list of Internet contentproviders which he or she trusts, as discussed above.

In one example, the DB 106 may comprise a physical storage deviceintegrated with the AS 104 (e.g., a database server or a file server),or attached or coupled to the AS 104, in accordance with the presentdisclosure. In one example, the AS 104 may load instructions into amemory, or one or more distributed memory units, and execute theinstructions for sharing user data with Internet content providers via atrusted system, as described herein. Example methods for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system are described in greater detail below in connectionwith FIGS. 2-3 .

It should be noted that the system 100 has been simplified. Thus, thoseskilled in the art will realize that the system 100 may be implementedin a different form than that which is illustrated in FIG. 1 , or may beexpanded by including additional endpoint devices, access networks,network elements, application servers, etc. without altering the scopeof the present disclosure. In addition, system 100 may be altered toomit various elements, substitute elements for devices that perform thesame or similar functions, combine elements that are illustrated asseparate devices, and/or implement network elements as functions thatare spread across several devices that operate collectively as therespective network elements.

For example, the system 100 may include other network elements (notshown) such as border elements, routers, switches, policy servers,security devices, gateways, a content distribution network (CDN) and thelike. For example, portions of the core network 102, access networks 120and 122, and/or Internet 124 may comprise a content distribution network(CDN) having ingest servers, edge servers, and the like. Similarly,although only two access networks, 120 and 122 are shown, in otherexamples, access networks 120 and/or 122 may each comprise a pluralityof different access networks that may interface with the core network102 independently or in a chained manner. For example, UE devices 108,110, 112, and 114 may communicate with the core network 102 viadifferent access networks, user endpoint devices 110 and 112 maycommunicate with the core network 102 via different access networks, andso forth. Thus, these and other modifications are all contemplatedwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 200 for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure. In oneexample, steps, functions and/or operations of the method 200 may beperformed by a device as illustrated in FIG. 1 , e.g., AS 104 or any oneor more components thereof. In particular, the method 200 provides amethod by which an Internet service provider may generate a networkcookie for installation on a subscriber's user endpoint device.

In one example, the steps, functions, or operations of method 200 may beperformed by a computing device or system 500, and/or a processingsystem 502 as described in connection with FIG. 5 below. For instance,the computing device 500 may represent at least a portion of the AS 104in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes,the method 200 is described in greater detail below in connection withan example performed by a processing system in an Internet serviceprovider network, such as processing system 502.

The method 200 begins in step 202 and proceeds to step 204. In step 204,the processing system may receive a plurality of requests (i.e., atleast a first request and a second request) from a user endpoint devicethat is associated with a first IP address, where the user endpointdevice is operated by a subscriber of an Internet service provider, andwhere each request of the plurality of requests comprises a request fora respective IP address associated with a respective URL of a respectiveInternet content provider. For instance, the plurality of requests maycomprise domain name system (DNS) or DNS over hypertext transferprotocol (DoH) requests, where the processing system is part of a DNS orDoH server operated by the Internet service provider to resolve requestsfor IP addresses associated with URLs. Thus, the subscriber of theInternet service provider may have provided a URL associated with arequest by typing the URL into an address bar of a web browser or byclicking on a hyperlink (e.g., where the hyperlink may have beenpresented to the subscriber in response to a search initiated by thesubscriber).

In step 206, the processing system may extract a pattern from theplurality of requests, utilizing a machine learning technique. Forinstance, in addition to responding to the plurality of requests (e.g.,by returning the IP addresses associated with the URLs specified in therequests), the processing system may also apply one or more machinelearning techniques to the plurality of requests in order to derive acommonality or a pattern among the plurality of requests that mayindicate a subscriber intent or interest. The pattern may be derived,for example, by analyzing the websites visited by the subscriber, thetime the subscriber spent on each of the websites, the order in whichthe subscriber visited the websites, any content on the websites withwhich the subscriber interacted, and/or other activity related to theplurality of requests. For instance, if the plurality of requestsincludes a plurality of URLs for a plurality of different luxury carcompanies, the processing system may determine that the user may beinterested in purchasing a luxury car. The machine learning techniquemay include one or more of the following techniques: a support vectormachine (SVM), a decision tree technique, a random forest technique, oranother technique.

In step 208, the processing system may generate a network cookie (i.e.,a file) that encodes the pattern that is extracted in step 206. Inanother example, rather than directly encoding the pattern, the networkcookie may instead include a reference or pointer to the analysis thatextracted the pattern (where the details of the analysis may be storedin a location that is accessible to the processing system, such as localmemory or a remote database).

In one example, the network cookie may also include additionalinformation about the subscriber, which may be retrieved from asubscriber profile. For instance, the processing system may retrieve thefirst IP address from the plurality of requests and may match the firstIP address to a subscriber for whom the Internet service providermaintains a profile. In one example, the first IP address is a public IPaddress that is replaced with a private IP address on the subscriber'suser endpoint device (e.g., in accordance with carrier grade networkaddress translation). In one example, the public IP address is an IPv4or IPv6 address that is not unique to the subscriber's user endpointdevice. In other words, multiple subscriber networks including a networkthat includes the subscriber's user endpoint device may share a commonpublic IP address. However, the processing system may know the privateIP address with which the public IP address is replaced on thesubscriber's user endpoint device. In other examples, the first IPaddress may be a public IP address that is unique to the subscriber'suser endpoint device. Even when the subscriber's IP address changes(e.g., due to relocation, or a dynamic host configuration protocolre-assignment), the Internet service provider will still be able to usethe network cookie to map the profile data associated with the old IPaddress to the new IP address (for instance, when the network cookie isreceived from the new IP address along with a DNS request, theinformation in the network cookie may operate as an identifier for thesubscriber).

Non-unique public IP addresses related to NAT functions may be morecommonly used in enterprise-initiated queries. For instance, anenterprise may utilize the disclosed system to ensure that cookies arenot stored on the enterprise's networked computing devices. Theenterprise may also establish profiles for the enterprise's employeeswhich may restrict the employees' Internet usage or may enforce otherpolicies related to Internet usage.

In one example, the additional information about the subscriber mayinclude subscriber-provided data (e.g., data provided directly by thesubscriber when the subscriber initially created an account with theInternet service provider) and/or information about the subscriber'snetwork activity (e.g., data recorded by the Internet service providerin the course of providing service to the subscriber, such as currentphysical location, current network connectivity conditions, and thelike). For instance, in one example, the additional information aboutthe subscriber may include at least one of: subscriber name, subscriberidentifier (e.g., a numerical or alphanumeric identifier that does notidentify the subscriber by name, such as an account number), subscriberaddress (e.g., the physical address associated with the subscriberaccount, such as a home address, a business address, or the like), amobile device number associated with the subscriber (e.g., if theInternet service provider also provides mobile phone services), alocation of the subscriber (e.g., a current location, if the Internetservice provider has access to information about the subscriber's mobiledevice(s)), a more extensive DNS query history of the subscriber,demographic information of the subscriber (e.g., age, marital status,employment status, education level, language preference, etc.), and/orother information about the subscriber. At least some of the additionaldata may comprise data that allows the Internet service provider tomaintain stateful and/or persistent information about an HTTP sessionbetween the user endpoint device and an Internet content provider.

In a further example, the network cookie may also indicate whichspecific types of data the subscriber has authorized for sharing withwhich specific Internet content providers or types of Internet contentproviders. For instance, the profile may authorize information about asubscriber's DNS query history, but not location, to be shared withInternet content providers which provide social media services. The sameprofile may authorize both DNS query history and location data to beprovided to Internet content providers which provide search engines (orto be provided to specific search engines). The profile may authorizeidentification information in the profile to be shared with a specificfinancial institution with which the subscriber has an account (e.g.,examplebank.com). Authorization information may also be retrieved from asubscriber profile.

In step 210, the processing system may deliver the network cookie to theuser endpoint device for installation on the user endpoint device. Forinstance, upon receiving the network cookie from the processing system,the user endpoint device may store the network cookie locally, e.g., ina local memory of the user endpoint device. When the user endpointdevice sends any subsequent requests to the processing system (e.g.,subsequent DNS or DoH requests), the user endpoint device may includethe network cookie in the subsequent requests, as discussed in furtherdetail below.

The method 200 may end in step 212.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 300 for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure. Inparticular, the method 300 provides a method for providing customizedcontent to a user endpoint device of a subscriber when the user endpointdevice has installed thereon a network cookie generated by the Internetservice provider (as discussed in connection with the method 200,above). Thus, in one example, the method 300 may be viewed as anoptional extension of the method 200, where the method 300 may pick upwhere the method 200 ends.

In one example, steps, functions and/or operations of the method 300 maybe performed by a device as illustrated in FIG. 1 , e.g., AS 104 or anyone or more components thereof. In one example, the steps, functions, oroperations of method 300 may be performed by a computing device orsystem 500, and/or a processing system 502 as described in connectionwith FIG. 5 below. For instance, the computing device 500 may representat least a portion of the AS 104 in accordance with the presentdisclosure. For illustrative purposes, the method 300 is described ingreater detail below in connection with an example performed by aprocessing system in an Internet service provider network, such asprocessing system 502.

The method 300 begins in step 302 and proceeds to step 304. In step 304,the processing system may receive a first request from a user endpointdevice, where the first request comprises a request for a first IPaddress associated with a first URL of a first Internet contentprovider, and where the first request includes a network cookie that wasgenerated by the Internet service provider (i.e., the service providerwho provides the subscriber with connectivity to a core network and theInternet in general). In one example, the first request is separate fromthe plurality of requests received in step 204 of the method 200 (i.e.,separate from the requests on which the network cookie was based).However, the first IP address may or may not be one of the IP addressesrequested in the plurality of requests received in step 204. Forinstance, the subscriber may wish to revisit a previously visitedwebsite. Alternatively, the subscriber may wish to visit a website thatthe subscriber has not previously visited. Thus, the first Internetcontent provider could be, but is not necessarily, one of the Internetcontent providers who previously provided requested content to thesubscriber.

In step 306, the processing system may modify content associated withthe first URL for the subscriber, based on data contained in the networkcookie included in the new request, to generate customized content forthe subscriber. For instance, if the network cookie indicates that thesubscriber has recently visited websites for a plurality of differentluxury car manufacturers, and the first URL is associated with anotherluxury car manufacturer (or one of the luxury car manufacturers whosewebsite the subscriber previously visited), then the content associatedwith the first URL may be modified to show a comparison between vehiclesmanufactured by the luxury car manufacturer associated with the firstURL and the luxury car manufacturers associated with the previouslyvisited websites (as indicated in the network cookie).

In another example, if the network cookie indicates that the subscriberis located in a particular city, then the content may be customized forthe particular city. For instance, referring again to the subscriber whovisited websites for a plurality of luxury car manufacturers, thecontent may be customized to show the nearest dealerships selling theluxury car brands whose websites the subscriber visited.

In another example, if the network cookie indicates that thesubscriber's first language is Spanish, the processing system may obtaina Spanish language version of the website associated with the first URL.The above are examples in which the content of the website associatedwith the first URL may be customized for the subscriber based on theinformation contained in the network cookie; other customizations arealso within the scope of the disclosure.

In optional step 308 (illustrated in phantom), the processing system maydeliver the network cookie (e.g., a copy of the network cookie) to thefirst Internet content provider. This may enable the Internet contentprovider to continue to provide customized content to the user endpointdevice. For instance, the network cookie may be used by the Internetcontent provider as an index into a database of subscriber profilesmaintained by the Internet service provider or into a database ofinformation maintained by the Internet content provider.

In one example, the processing system may only deliver the networkcookie to the first Internet content provider if the subscriber hasauthorized sharing of the network cookie. For instance, the subscribermay authorize (e.g., in a profile maintained by the Internet serviceprovider) the sharing of the network cookie with all Internet contentproviders, with only specific Internet content providers, with onlyspecific types of Internet content providers, with only Internet contentproviders that have been vetted and determined to be trusted (e.g., bythe Internet service provider or by a third party), or may not authorizethe sharing of the network cookie with any Internet content providers atall.

In step 310, the processing system may deliver the customized content tothe user endpoint device.

The method 300 may end in step 312.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 for providingsubscribers of an Internet service provider with customized content viaa trusted system, in accordance with the present disclosure. Inparticular, the method 400 provides a method for a user endpoint deviceof a subscriber, which has installed thereon a network cookie generatedby the Internet service provider (as discussed in connection with themethod 200, above), to obtain customized content using the networkcookie. Thus, the method 400 may be viewed as the user-side processcorresponding to the methods described in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3.

In one example, steps, functions and/or operations of the method 400 maybe performed by a device as illustrated in FIG. 1 , e.g., any one ormore of user endpoint devices 108, 110, 112, and/or 114 or any one ormore components thereof. In one example, the steps, functions, oroperations of method 400 may be performed by a computing device orsystem 500, and/or a processing system 502 as described in connectionwith FIG. 5 below. For instance, the computing device 500 may representat least a portion of a user endpoint device 108, 110, 112, or 114 inaccordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes, themethod 400 is described in greater detail below in connection with anexample performed by a processing system in an Internet service providernetwork, such as processing system 502.

The method 400 begins in step 402 and proceeds to step 404. In step 404,the processing system may receive a network cookie directly from theInternet service provider who provides the processing system withconnectivity to the Internet. In one example, the network cookie may bereceived along with the response to a DNS request that the processingsystem sent to a DNS resolver of the Internet service provider. Forinstance, the network cookie may be received along with the IP addressof an Internet content provider whose URL the processing system hasprovided to the DNS resolver for resolution.

In one example, the network cookie may encode a pattern that isextracted from a plurality of previous DNS requests sent by theprocessing system to the DNS resolver. In another example, rather thandirectly encoding the pattern, the network cookie may instead include areference or pointer to the analysis that extracted the pattern.Additionally, the network cookie may include additional informationabout the subscriber associated with the processing system.

The addition information may include subscriber-provided data (e.g.,data provided directly by the subscriber when the subscriber initiallycreated an account with the Internet service provider) and/orinformation about the subscriber's network activity (e.g., data recordedby the Internet service provider in the course of providing service tothe subscriber, such as current physical location, current networkconnectivity conditions, and the like). For instance, in one example,the additional information about the subscriber may include at least oneof: subscriber name, subscriber identifier (e.g., a numerical oralphanumeric identifier that does not identify the subscriber by name,such as an account number), subscriber address (e.g., the physicaladdress associated with the subscriber account, such as a home address,a business address, or the like), a mobile device number associated withthe subscriber (e.g., if the Internet service provider also providesmobile phone services), a location of the subscriber (e.g., a currentlocation, if the Internet service provider has access to informationabout the subscriber's mobile device(s)), a more extensive DNS queryhistory of the subscriber, demographic information of the subscriber(e.g., age, marital status, employment status, education level, languagepreference, etc.), and/or other information about the subscriber. Atleast some of the additional data may comprise data that allows theInternet service provider to maintain stateful and/or persistentinformation about an HTTP session between the user endpoint device andan Internet content provider.

In a further example, the network cookie may also indicate whichspecific types of data the subscriber has authorized for sharing withwhich specific Internet content providers or types of Internet contentproviders. For instance, the profile may authorize information about asubscriber's DNS query history, but not location, to be shared withInternet content providers which provide social media services. The sameprofile may authorize both DNS query history and location data to beprovided to Internet content providers which provide search engines (orto be provided to specific search engines). The profile may authorizeidentification information in the profile to be shared with a specificfinancial institution with which the subscriber has an account (e.g.,examplebank.com).

In step 406, the processing system may store the network cookie in alocal memory of the processing system. For instance, the processingsystem may store the network cookie in a folder or subfolder of theprocessing system's web browser application.

In step 408, the processing system may generate a request to send to theInternet service provider, where the request comprises a request for anIP address associated with a URL of an Internet content provider. Forinstance, the request may be generated in a web browser application ofthe processing system. As an example, a subscriber who is operating theprocessing system may type a URL into an address bar of the web browserapplication, or may click on a URL presented by the web browserapplication. In response, the processing system may generate a requestcontaining the URL that is typed or clicked for delivery to a DNSresolver of the Internet service provider.

In step 410, the processing system may attach the network cookie to therequest. For instance, the processing system may retrieve the networkcookie from a folder or subfolder of the web browser application and mayattach the network cookie to the request that was generated in step 408.

In step 412, the processing system may send the request that wasgenerated in step 408, including the network cookie that was attached instep 410, to the Internet service provider. For instance, the processingsystem may send the request to a DNS resolver of the Internet serviceprovider.

In optional step 414 (illustrated in phantom), the processing system mayreceive, in response to the request, customized content from theInternet service provider. The customized content may be customizedbased on information contained in the network cookie. For instance, ifthe network cookie indicates that the subscriber has recently visitedwebsites for a plurality of different luxury car manufacturers, and thefirst URL is associated with another luxury car manufacturer (or one ofthe luxury car manufacturers whose website the subscriber previouslyvisited), then the content associated with the first URL may be modifiedto show a comparison between vehicles manufactured by the luxury carmanufacturer associated with the first URL and the luxury carmanufacturers associated with the previously visited websites (asindicated in the network cookie).

In another example, if the network cookie indicates that the subscriberis located in a particular city, then the content may be customized forthe particular city. For instance, referring again to the subscriber whovisited websites for a plurality of luxury car manufacturers, thecontent may be customized to show the nearest dealerships selling theluxury car brands whose websites the subscriber visited.

In another example, if the network cookie indicates that thesubscriber's first language is Spanish, the processing system may obtaina Spanish language version of the website associated with the first URL.The above are examples in which the content of the website associatedwith the first URL may be customized for the subscriber based on theinformation contained in the network cookie; other customizations arealso within the scope of the disclosure.

In optional step 416 (illustrated in phantom), the processing system mayreceive, in response to the request, customized content from an Internetcontent provider. The Internet content provider may be an Internetcontent provider whose IP address corresponds to the URL included in therequest sent in step 412. In this case, the Internet content providermay subscribe to an analytics service offered by the Internet serviceprovider or may be included in a list of Internet content providers whohave been authorized (by the Internet service provider and/or by thesubscriber who is operating the processing system) to receive data aboutthe subscriber who is operating the processing system. As a subscriberor vetted Internet content provider, the Internet service provider mayhave provided the network cookie that was attached to the request to theInternet content provider, so that the Internet content provider canprovide customized content to the subscriber.

The method 400 may end in step 418.

Thus examples of the present disclosure, in essence, replace the use ofconventional cookies generated by Internet content providers (or otherthird parties) with cookies that are generated by the Internet serviceprovider. This system provides improved protection of user data, withoutdisrupting the user's browsing experience or preventing trusted Internetcontent providers from providing customized content to users. Inparticular, examples of the present disclosure leverage the unique,trusted relationship that Internet service providers have both withtheir subscribers (e.g., end users who do not want cookies from unknownparties stored on their computing devices) and with trusted Internetcontent providers (who need to know information about the end users).

The network cookie may be updated, e.g., continuously, periodically, orin response to predefined triggering events. For instance, as theInternet service provider acquires more information about a subscriber'snetwork activity (e.g., DNS history), the machine learning models usedto extract the patterns may be able to produce improved results thatalign more closely with the subscriber's intentions and preferences. Inone example, the network cookie may be updated (e.g., by re-running themachine learning models and including the more recent DNS history data)every x times a request is received (where x may be any number that isone or greater, and may be predefined). In another example, the networkcookie may be updated on a time-based basis (e.g., every y hours ordays, where y may be any number that is one or greater and may bepredefined). In another example, the detection of a triggering event(e.g., the subscriber visiting a specific website at least a predefinednumber of times within a predefined window of time, a change in the IPaddress of the user endpoint device, and/or other events) may cause theprocessing system to update the network cookie. Updating the networkcookie may help to ensure that the content delivered to a user endpointdevice continues to be well-tailored to the subscriber's evolvingintentions and preferences.

In further examples, the network cookie could be used to optimizerouting of requests (e.g., DNS requests) from the user endpoint device.For instance, the network cookie may indicate user preferences regardingrouting, as well as information about network conditions (e.g.,bandwidth, latency, etc.) experienced by the user endpoint device whichmay enable the ISP to make routing decisions that improve the subscriberexperience.

Moreover, the methods 200, 300, and 400 may be performed in a mannerthat is transparent to the subscriber. That is, the methods 200, 300,and 400 may ensure that the subscriber's personal data is provided onlyto trusted parties (i.e., the Internet service provider, and potentiallyto trusted Internet content providers), and only in a manner that isapproved by the subscriber, without requiring subscriber intervention(e.g., without requiring the subscriber approve sharing of thesubscriber's data each time an Internet content provider requests thesubscriber's data).

In some examples, Internet content providers may subscribe to a servicethat delivers content provided by the Internet content provider to userendpoint devices in response to the detection of certain data in networkcookies. For instance, referring again to the example in which thenetwork cookie indicates that the subscriber has viewed a plurality ofwebsites for different luxury car manufacturers, a particular luxury carmanufacturer may subscribe to a service through which specific contentprovided by the particular luxury car manufacturer (e.g., a competitivevehicle offer) may be delivered to the user endpoint device when anotherrequest is received from the user endpoint device for an IP address or aURL associated with luxury cars.

It should be noted that the methods 200, 300, and 400 may be expanded toinclude additional steps or may be modified to include additionaloperations with respect to the steps outlined above. In addition,although not specifically specified, one or more steps, functions, oroperations of the methods 200, 300, and 400 may include a storing,displaying, and/or outputting step as required for a particularapplication. In other words, any data, records, fields, and/orintermediate results discussed in the method can be stored, displayed,and/or outputted either on the device executing the method or to anotherdevice, as required for a particular application. Furthermore, steps,blocks, functions or operations in FIG. 2, 3 , or 4 that recite adetermining operation or involve a decision do not necessarily requirethat both branches of the determining operation be practiced. In otherwords, one of the branches of the determining operation can be deemed asan optional step. Furthermore, steps, blocks, functions or operations ofthe above described method can be combined, separated, and/or performedin a different order from that described above, without departing fromthe examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a high-level block diagram of a computing device orprocessing system specifically programmed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. As depicted in FIG. 5 , the processing system 500comprises one or more hardware processor elements 502 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or a multi-core processor), amemory 504 (e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/or read only memory(ROM)), a module 505 for providing subscribers of an Internet serviceprovider with customized content via a trusted system, and variousinput/output devices 506 (e.g., storage devices, including but notlimited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive or a compactdisk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, a display, a speechsynthesizer, an output port, an input port and a user input device (suchas a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone and the like)). Althoughonly one processor element is shown, it should be noted that thecomputing device may employ a plurality of processor elements.Furthermore, although only one computing device is shown in the figure,if the method 200, 300, or 400 as discussed above is implemented in adistributed or parallel manner for a particular illustrative example,i.e., the steps of the above method 200, 300, or 400 or the entiremethod 200, 300, or 400 is implemented across multiple or parallelcomputing devices, e.g., a processing system, then the computing deviceof this figure is intended to represent each of those multiple computingdevices.

Furthermore, one or more hardware processors can be utilized insupporting a virtualized or shared computing environment. Thevirtualized computing environment may support one or more virtualmachines representing computers, servers, or other computing devices. Insuch virtualized virtual machines, hardware components such as hardwareprocessors and computer-readable storage devices may be virtualized orlogically represented. The hardware processor 502 can also be configuredor programmed to cause other devices to perform one or more operationsas discussed above. In other words, the hardware processor 502 may servethe function of a central controller directing other devices to performthe one or more operations as discussed above.

It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a programmable gatearray (PGA) including a Field PGA, or a state machine deployed on ahardware device, a computing device or any other hardware equivalents,e.g., computer readable instructions pertaining to the method discussedabove can be used to configure a hardware processor to perform thesteps, functions and/or operations of the above disclosed method 200,300, or 400. In one example, instructions and data for the presentmodule or process 505 for providing subscribers of an Internet serviceprovider with customized content via a trusted system (e.g., a softwareprogram comprising computer-executable instructions) can be loaded intomemory 504 and executed by hardware processor element 502 to implementthe steps, functions, or operations as discussed above in connectionwith the illustrative method 200, 300, or 400. Furthermore, when ahardware processor executes instructions to perform “operations,” thiscould include the hardware processor performing the operations directlyand/or facilitating, directing, or cooperating with another hardwaredevice or component (e.g., a co-processor and the like) to perform theoperations.

The processor executing the computer readable or software instructionsrelating to the above described method can be perceived as a programmedprocessor or a specialized processor. As such, the present module 505for providing subscribers of an Internet service provider withcustomized content via a trusted system (including associated datastructures) of the present disclosure can be stored on a tangible orphysical (broadly non-transitory) computer-readable storage device ormedium, e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, ROM memory, RAMmemory, magnetic or optical drive, device or diskette, and the like.Furthermore, a “tangible” computer-readable storage device or mediumcomprises a physical device, a hardware device, or a device that isdiscernible by the touch. More specifically, the computer-readablestorage device may comprise any physical devices that provide theability to store information such as data and/or instructions to beaccessed by a processor or a computing device such as a computer or anapplication server.

While various examples have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of illustration only,and not a limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of any aspect of thepresent disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-describedexamples, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processingsystem of a user endpoint device including at least one processor, anetwork cookie directly from an internet service provider who provides asubscriber who is associated with the user endpoint device withconnectivity to the internet; storing, by the processing system, thenetwork cookie in a local memory of the user endpoint device;generating, by the processing system, a request to send to the internetservice provider, wherein the request comprises a request for aninternet protocol address associated with a uniform resource locator ofan internet content provider; attaching, by the processing system, thenetwork cookie to the request; and sending, by the processing system,the request and the network cookie to the internet service provider. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the network cookie is received along witha response to a domain name system request that the processing systemsent to a domain name system resolver.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe network cookie further encodes information about the subscriber thatis stored in a profile for the subscriber that is maintained by theinternet service provider.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein theinformation about the subscriber comprises at least of: a name of thesubscriber, an identifier of the subscriber, an address of thesubscriber, a mobile device number associated with the subscriber, alocation of the subscriber, or demographic information of thesubscriber.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the profile for thesubscriber further defines, for each internet content provider of adefined plurality of internet content providers, a respective subset ofthe information about the subscriber that is allowed to be shared. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein a first subset of the information aboutthe subscriber that is allowed to be shared with a first internetcontent provider of the defined plurality of internet content providersis different than a second subset of the information about thesubscriber that is allowed to be shared with a second internet contentprovider of the defined plurality of internet content providers.
 7. Themethod of claim 3, wherein an internet protocol address of the userendpoint device changes from a first internet protocol address to asecond internet protocol address, and wherein the network cookie mapsthe profile for the subscriber to the second internet protocol address.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the internet content providercomprises an operator of a website.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe network cookie is stored in a folder or subfolder of a web browserapplication of the user endpoint device.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, by the processing system in response tothe request, customized content from the internet service provider. 11.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the processingsystem in response to the request, customized content from the internetcontent provider.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions which, when executed by a processing system of a userendpoint device including at least one processor, cause the processingsystem to perform operations, the operations comprising: receiving anetwork cookie directly from an internet service provider who provides asubscriber who is associated with the user endpoint device withconnectivity to the internet; storing the network cookie in a localmemory of the user endpoint device; generating a request to send to theinternet service provider, wherein the request comprises a request foran internet protocol address associated with a uniform resource locatorof an internet content provider; attaching the network cookie to therequest; and sending the request and the network cookie to the internetservice provider.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein the network cookie is received along with a responseto a domain name system request that the processing system sent to adomain name system resolver.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 12, wherein the network cookie further encodesinformation about the subscriber that is stored in a profile for thesubscriber that is maintained by the internet service provider.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein theinformation about the subscriber comprises at least of: a name of thesubscriber, an identifier of the subscriber, an address of thesubscriber, a mobile device number associated with the subscriber, alocation of the subscriber, or demographic information of thesubscriber.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the profile for the subscriber further defines, for eachinternet content provider of a defined plurality of internet contentproviders, a respective subset of the information about the subscriberthat is allowed to be shared.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 12, wherein the network cookie is stored in a folder orsubfolder of a web browser application of the user endpoint device. 18.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving, in response to the request,customized content from the internet service provider.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving, in response to the request,customized content from the internet content provider.
 20. A userendpoint device comprising: a processing system including at least oneprocessor; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions which, when executed by the processing system, cause theprocessing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:receiving a network cookie directly from an internet service providerwho provides a subscriber who is associated with the user endpointdevice with connectivity to the internet; storing the network cookie ina local memory of the user endpoint device; generating a request to sendto the internet service provider, wherein the request comprises arequest for an internet protocol address associated with a uniformresource locator of an internet content provider; attaching the networkcookie to the request; and sending the request and the network cookie tothe internet service provider.